Standout performances in wins over Vanderbilt (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Kentucky (17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, no turnovers) gave Parsons the accolades. But those games are hardly an aberration since the No. 17 Gators started their conference schedule.

“Parsons has really gotten better. The guy that hurt us the most was Parsons,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari on the SEC’s weekly teleconference. “And you say, ‘Well, how’d he hurt you?’ He outworked our guy. He went after offensive rebound harder than our guy went after defensive rebounds. He made plays going to the basket, that you would say, ‘Wow, he just outworked us on those plays.’”

In fact, Parsons ranks second in rebounding in SEC play. At 6-foot-10 at the small forward position, he doesn’t have to bang around in the low post like power forward Alex Tyus or center Vernon Macklin.

Case in point: a 32-point win over Arkansas on Jan. 22. Facing a three-guard lineup and a mismatch at his position, Parsons matched a career-high 15 rebounds, more than double any of his teammates.

“I think the biggest thing is for any rebounder is he’s active. He makes the effort to go to the glass,” said Florida coach Billy Donovan. “For a guy like Chandler, who’s playing on the perimeter, it’s a lot easier to see flights of balls and run in. And the tendency is when someone’s on the perimeter a lot of times is not to block them out, to lose sight, to be caught in the rotation.

“It helps us when he defensive rebounds because of his size he can start the break and we can run quickly without having to outlet the ball. I think the biggest thing is he provides effort when he goes to the backboard.”

It’s not just rebounding where Parsons has been valuable. With the exception of field-goal percentage, he has improved in nearly every statistical category in SEC play.

His improvement comes after a month-long slump that began with a return home to Orlando in a loss to UCF, Parsons’ worst shooting night of the season, and ended with an 11-rebound performance in a win over Xavier on New Year’s Eve.

Not surprisingly, Parsons’ consistency has led to the Gators’ consistency. Florida’s two SEC losses came on nights when the Gators missed 10 free throws (Jan. 15 in a 72-69 loss to South Carolina and Jan. 29 in a 71-64 loss at Mississippi State).

After the Kentucky game, Donovan said he couldn’t remember if he had kept a player in for all 20 minutes of a half during his tenure at Florida. But Parsons didn’t come out in the second half, as the Gators needed the offense and defense to run through him.

“I wanted to rest him, get him out of the game but he was doing too many things,” Donovan said.

Since the calendar flipped to SEC play, Donovan could say the same. Parsons has improved, starting with his effort on the glass.

“Rebounding’s all about effort. How bad do I want to make my opponent block me out every possession?” Parsons said. “I want to make him just as tired as I am. It gives us a lift when I rebound. It lets those big guys block out so I can get in there and get some of those easy ones.”